The Fallen Fragment's roar echoed across Elyndor like a second heartbeat.
The city trembled.
The stars flickered behind a sky torn open by mana storms.
And yet—
in the broken plaza at the heart of it all—
one figure stood unbowed.
Kaelen Drayce.
Sword in hand.
Cracked-crown sigil burning bright across his chest.
Behind him, battered but unbroken, the Pathbreakers formed a ragged circle.
Eren, Mira, Selina, Damon, Lyra — each ready to fight, to die, to protect their future.
The world might have forgotten them.
Might have called them commoners, trash, fools.
But here and now, they stood as warriors.
Here and now, they fought not as pawns.
But as the first bricks of a kingdom not yet born.
[System Notification]
[Mission Update: Fallen Sovereign Fragment Health 72%.]
[Warning: Fragment entering Second Awakening Phase.]
Kaelen wiped blood from the corner of his mouth.
The Sovereignblade Astryn hummed in his grip, resonating with the cracking world around him.
He could feel it.
The power inside him —
still small, still growing —
but inevitable.
The Fallen Awakens
The monster shifted.
Its broken crown re-formed, spikes of dark crystal rising from its skull.
Its shadow stretched wider, swallowing nearby ruins into an abyss of night.
With a roar, it struck again —
a tidal wave of black magic hurtling toward Kaelen and the Pathbreakers.
Kaelen's instincts screamed.
They couldn't outrun it.
Not this time.
Kaelen Stepped Forward
He didn't hesitate.
Didn't falter.
He raised Sovereignblade Astryn high and planted his feet.
Silver light erupted from him, forming a barrier of cracked, radiant shields —
The Sovereign Aegis.
"Hold the line!" Kaelen shouted.
"Fight with me! Fight for everything they said we couldn't have!"
The Pathbreakers roared back, their magic and weapons surging with desperate fury.
They didn't just stand beside Kaelen.
They stood because of him.
The Clash
The black tidal wave crashed against the silver shields.
The world shook.
The ground split.
Magic screamed.
But the shields held.
And when the black tide faded, the Pathbreakers were still standing.
Bruised.
Bleeding.
Alive.
[System Notification]
[Group Resistance Successful.]
[Sovereign Leadership Trait Progression: 4%.]
[Future Title Unlocked: "King of the Uncrowned."]
Kaelen exhaled slowly, chest burning with effort.
He glanced back at his team — at Eren's wild grin, Mira's steady bow, Selina's shining hands healing Damon's broken arm, Lyra's wind dancing around them all.
"Not just survivors," he whispered.
"Not just warriors."
"This is a beginning."
Meanwhile — Deep in the World Beyond
In a plane hidden from mortal sight, ancient beings watched.
One wreathed in emerald chains muttered:
"Another mortal seeks a throne."
Another, crowned in broken halos, laughed.
"Let him climb.
If he dares reach the heavens…
he will find us waiting."
Back in Elyndor
Kaelen tightened his grip on Astryn.
The Fallen Fragment snarled, gathering power for another devastating strike.
Kaelen raised his sword, cracked-crown sigil burning brighter than ever.
And he smiled.
"Come, monster."
"The path to a throne is paved in blood."
"I'm ready to take the first step."
He charged.
The Pathbreakers roared and followed.
And thus —
in the broken ruins of a dying city —
the first Sovereign Kingdom began to take shape.
Not in golden palaces.
Not with noble decrees.
But in blood, loyalty, and fire.